If I Had One Wish…

By Wesley Yin-Poole Published 10 August, 2010

Game creators tell us theirs.

We all love to make wishes. "I wish for a million quid." "I wish for world peace." "I wish for this kid to stop screaming down my headset while I'm playing Call of Duty."

But what if game developers could make one wish? What if they had a solitary, anything goes, no-expense-spared wish to burn on changing the games industry?

Over the last month, Eurogamer asked some of gaming's brightest stars and biggest deals that very question. Here's what they wished for.

Greg Zeschuk, co-founder, BioWare

"I would guarantee a hundred per cent agreement that games are art. The genie would remove Roger Ebert's comments and he would say videogames are art.

I think it's inevitable. When more people finally get exposed to it they'll go, 'Oh, yeah.' It's very much like movies or books. There's pulp fiction and there's deep, emotionally engaging stuff.

'If I Had One Wish…' Screenshot gregnewnew

For us it's a particular frustration, because hopefully ours are the ones that are closer to art. So we take the comment that they're not particularly sensitively.

If we're doing a fighting game, okay, I don't care if it's art or not. But when you're striving to make games that have an emotional impact on people - to have someone say it's not art is insulting.

You play some of the stuff now, especially some of the indie stuff, it's more artful and more inspirational than a lot of big games. We're the summer blockbuster, but some of the free little things you can play are amazing when it comes to music and visuals.

What makes a game art? I'd personally relate it back to emotional impact. It has a profound effect on the individual. Not just a sudden outburst of whipping the controller, but actually having something you think deeply about on a long term basis, that has some sort of impact on the person. Like any great painting or sculpture, you remember it for years and it has some kind of impact on you.

So that genie will make everyone believe and agree finally it's all art. It's inevitable over time, as people who've grown up with them all get it."

'If I Had One Wish…' Screenshot karlnew

Karl Stewart, brand director, Lara Croft

"I want a game that makes me cry. Seriously.

I play games, and I get to the edge, I get to a point where I'm blown away, but I've yet to play a game that truly immerses me in the experience so much so that I could cry.

That may sound sad but I love the depth and emotion and the story in a game. Outside of all the technology that you can throw at it, it boils down to emotion and an experience that you're given.

I would love to think that at some stage we have a game that, just like a movie, you get to the end of the movie and something big happens. It's an epic moment and a little tear rolls down your cheek and you brush it away. You think, 'What am I crying for?'

I want to see that in a videogame in my lifetime."

'If I Had One Wish…' Screenshot louisnew

Louis Castle, CEO, GarageGames and InstantAction

"There are millions of things I'd wish for. For my selfish purposes, the one thing I'd like to change would be some completely seamless, frictionless way of delivering the highest quality content possible from the computer to the consumer through the web.

That problem to me has been the gating issue that's prevented our business from moving forward, more than anything else. Lots of people are trying to solve it. It is a really hard problem. But it'll get there."

Carrie Gouskos, producer, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning

"What I would like to see would be standardised, tiered knowledge between different companies. Or tools between companies, like you see in other industries where some things are taken for granted.

I feel like a lot of companies are forced to create everything from scratch. If they had the advantage of a bigger company or another company's tools, we'd see a lot of interesting ideas make their way to the forefront without making a lot of the same mistakes a lot of other games have."

Tim Schafer, founder, Double Fine Games

"In some ways I just wish it was easier on development teams. Not just mine. We've actually had it pretty good compared to a lot of them.

'If I Had One Wish…' Screenshot timnew

But I've seen a lot of good teams get together and have a rough time of it. Games are hard, as is figuring out how to make games good.

They struggled to do their first game. Got it done. And then when they've learned all their lessons and they've bonded as a team and they've figured out their processes and they realise what they did wrong with the technology and they want to change it all, their publisher just shuts them down. Lately I've seen that a lot.

It seems like something that holds our industry back... It would be so great if there were some way these teams could survive, if it was easier for a team to learn from its lessons.

The forces are against you when you're trying to do something that's good for the industry, which is create new IPs and put new ideas out there and invent new types of gameplay. The industry doesn't necessarily support that.

Then again, maybe it should be like that because you should have to fight for these things. It shouldn't be too easy, otherwise people wouldn't put their whole heart and soul into it as much.

People with money and publishers are in a position of supporting innovation and supporting R&D and indie games within their corporations. I wish there was a way to make that happen more.

Ultimately I guess I'd like to see the market broader. I'd like to see it reach more people than it does right now. Everybody in society should enjoy games. It doesn't have to be this walled garden."

'If I Had One Wish…' Screenshot forestnew

Forest Large, producer, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light

"I would love to see more women developers. When I'm at E3 I want to see just as many women as men developers on the floor. Then there would be more variation in the games that are out there. Through the games that we develop and offer, we could offer different types of experience.

Not to say that women own the space of crying, but in terms of having an emotional experience, more women developers engaging with game development could help that effort.

It would definitely benefit the games we put out there. If you have more female animators, women understand how women move better than anyone. Even just through the lens of realism, for example, we could achieve that.

I don't want you to think that Lara Croft is the only multi-dimensional female character out there in games. I don't think that at all. I think there are a lot of amazing female characters. I just want a few more.I was really inspired by Heavenly Sword. That was a good start."

Eugene Evans, general manager, BioWare Mythic

"What I'd like to see is ubiquitous worldwide broadband. I'm thinking big. But you said no questions asked. No expense spared.

You look at how different the gaming world is, in particular in Korea, and what happens when there is ubiquitous, inexpensive, fast broadband. Look at what it's done to the world of PC gaming over there.

There's still so much room. Sadly broadband still represents those barriers for people to discover how rich a gameplay experience an online game can represent."

Brian Jarrard, community director, Bungie

"In an ideal world it would be great if games were just somehow a little more ubiquitous and accessible.

'If I Had One Wish…' Screenshot briannewnew

Maybe that's a combination of how much they cost to purchase, or having to make the hard decision: do I buy this platform over this platform?

I guess it would be great if it were more like movies where anyone could experience a great game and not have to have this gigantic hurdle to overcome of, 'Do I buy this new Xbox Slim console for hundreds of dollars, or do I have to buy this PS3 console, or do I want to buy a Wii?'

That's one of the hardest parts of our industry, is how fragmented we are. As a gamer, I wish I could just enjoy and play great games and not have to always make those difficult decisions of how to spread my limited income across so many great options."

'If I Had One Wish…' Screenshot warrennew

Warren Spector, founder, Junction Point Studios

"I would want to make games for a lot less money with much smaller teams, so we could take a lot more chances.

It's very hard to take chances you want to take when you're spending as much money as we have to spend and when you've got teams that rely on you to succeed. I try to do it anyway and people think I'm nuts.

I know I'm putting people at risk when I do it, but I just think you have to do it anyway. But it would be nice if I didn't have the stress of all those people relying on me."

Niles Sankey, campaign designer, Halo: Reach

"The nice thing about Bungie - it might sound clichéd, but we never really need to make wishes. We're going to make it happen."

Picture of Wesley.

About Wesley Yin-Poole

Wesley is Eurogamer's news editor. He likes news, interviews, and more news. He also likes Street Fighter more than anyone can get him to shut up about it.

Read more articles from Wesley by visiting the Wesley Yin-Poole archive page.

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Comments (80) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Fab4 #1 2 years ago

    In next week's article: If I had one Wish, games publishers tell us theirs.

    "I'd have ownership of the air", Bobby Kotick, Activision Blizzard CEO and all-round cunt.

  • Golgo #2 2 years ago

    Niles Sankey: what a wankerish comment (...not unlike this one)

  • spiritsnake #3 2 years ago

    i wish for microsoft and sony to come together and build 1 great console.that is all.

  • Centrifugal #4 2 years ago

    Tim Schaufer didn't wish for some unspeakable horror to occur to Bobby Kotick?

  • s11mmy #5 2 years ago

    One wish? Cross online play between 360 and ps3 and (to a lesser extent) Wii

  • Yossarian #6 2 years ago

    Niles Sankey is weirdly wankerish for Bungie, but he also comes across as really nervous in any of the video interviews I've seen. I think this might be his first press tour.

  • FreakyZoid #7 2 years ago

    "I would guarantee a hundred per cent agreement that games are art. [...] hopefully ours are the ones that are closer to art."

    So you want all games to automatically be art, but then are admitting that yours are close to being art (which in saying that is admitting that they aren't art)?

    Why would you want everyone to accept that all games are art anyway?

  • TeaFiend #8 2 years ago

    I would wish for less people who do not understand games attempting to make development decisions.

  • JimWest #9 2 years ago

    @Teafiend

    +1 and seconded!

  • Branoic #10 2 years ago

    "Karl Stewart, brand director, Lara Croft

    "I want a game that makes me cry. Seriously."

    TR Angel of Darkness made me cry!

  • Xboxfanuk #11 2 years ago

    "The nice thing about Bungie - it might sound clichéd, but we never really need to make wishes. We're going to make it happen."

    Sounds like they will fit right into Actvision's arrogance.

  • EgbertoTheGreat #12 2 years ago

    "If you have more female animators, women understand how women move better than anyone"
    The problem is that, more often than not, female and male characters share the same skeleton and rig. This makes it difficult to achieve feminine movement as the legs are too short and the shoulders are too broad. Not that we're incapable of understanding how to animate women.

    And Sanckey, it sounds cliched because it is. It's also wankerish.

  • Freek #13 2 years ago

    Forest Large putting forward Lara Croft and Narito as interesting multidimensional characters is weird. They are pretty much the bog standard "hot chick with gun/sword" male fantasy character. Not that there's anything wrong that, it's fine, but it isn't depth or interesting character design either.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #14 2 years ago

    I wish for world peace.

  • Lalaland #15 2 years ago

    Niles Sankey is so 'on message' he must have drunk deep of that Acti kool-aid...

  • CraigMcG #16 2 years ago

    I wish for megan fox

  • dr_zoidthrob #17 2 years ago

    And in the next instalment... British developers...

    Oh, they're all going to Canada because of the crapness of the industry over here.

  • Hantheman #18 2 years ago

    Nice idea EG. I like it. I particularly support the worldwide megafast broadband movement.

  • geeza2020 #19 2 years ago

    One unified platform/ worldwided broadband coverage/ games with real characters instead of cartoon ones

    that's all the industry needs.... plus about 100 billion dollars to implement all of them.

  • Luxorz #20 2 years ago

    I wish the big companies were run by people that understand games, not businessmen that just want to make a quick buck.

  • sport #21 2 years ago

    No one wished for more blue skies?

  • sonicyoda #22 2 years ago

    ...I would ask for a big enough ass for the whole world to kiss.
    Edited by 1 at 11/08/10 @ 15:02

  • BigJonno #23 2 years ago

    I thought the one about making games more accessible and less fragmented was good. I know it's what we've all grown up with, but multiple formats with exclusive titles are a pain in the arse. It must suck for developers to have their potential audience so divided. Can you imagine how ludicrous it would be to have music or film divided up in the same way?

    It's crazy that the publishing industry is intentionally moving towards that kind of split with the rush to get on the e-reader bandwagon.

  • dacicus #24 2 years ago

    Spector's comment it's a rather interesting one. I wish to make games that cost less money, with a smaller team, able to take chances. That comment was spot on. He pointed exactly what's wrong with the game developing today.
    Edited by 1 at 11/08/10 @ 13:10

  • MrChuckles #25 2 years ago

    I'm with Forest Large...'More women developers'.. Then my office might smell a bit better...

  • butler` #26 2 years ago

    Cross platform between console and pc! So I can run around knifing all those 'pro' MW2 players with MLG gamer pics.

  • spekkeh #27 2 years ago

    Spector's comment it's a rather interesting one. I wish to make games that cost less money, with smaller team, able to take chances. That comment was spot on. He pointed exactly waht's wrong with the game developing today.

    I fully agree. If games are ever going to be the next books or movies, they shouldn't cost €60. And because they cost so much, buyers and therefore developers will forever stay conservative.

  • Shikasama #28 2 years ago

    I wish that the actions of the games industry over the past four years hadn't led me to the conclusion that the 360 will be my last ever games console.

  • Laserbrain #29 2 years ago

    Sonic yoda: "i would ask for a big enough ass for the whole world to kiss".

    No worries sonicyoda you are a big ass, but i have no intention of kissing any part of your anatomy.

  • dingo75 #30 2 years ago

    Karl: Go play and complete "Rune"!
    If you don't shed a tear at the end for the hero you are a real stone-cold bastard.

    Bungie guy:
    Start making multi-platform titles you tool!

  • CHAZBIGPOTATO #31 2 years ago

    "If I had one wish... I would ask for a big enough ass for the whole world to kiss"

    (Eminem)

  • spekkeh #32 2 years ago

    If 'they' don't get it, then fuck them. Who cares if it's considered art or not? What a stupid, sickeningly academic debate. Just makes me think of Germaine Greer and other such ponces.

    you, on the other hand, makes me think of a chav.

  • FreakyZoid #33 2 years ago

    "Spector's comment it's a rather interesting one. I wish to make games that cost less money, with a smaller team, able to take chances."

    There are plenty of small developers taking chances making games with small teams. Knock yourself out, Mr Spector - many can't afford the risk of not having a guaranteed monthly wage.

  • spekkeh #34 2 years ago

    No taking a break from writing my sickeningly academic dissertation on games. Neg me all you like, who cares what you think.

  • Shinetop #35 2 years ago

    As much as I want more women in game development, the fact that the only woman in the group has that wish is kind of dissapointing. Both in the way that none of the men wished for this, and for the fact that she only has her own gender's interests in mind when it comes to wishing.

  • CaptainQuint #36 2 years ago

    I wish there were more tits in games.

    And the odd cock (just to keep the missus happy).

  • MrChuckles #37 2 years ago

    Oooh, if you don't care, i'll neg you too :)....

  • JensonJet #38 2 years ago

    Interesting that art, emotional response and the comparison of movies popped up a few times.

    Games have never come close the artistry, the emotion, the storytelling and anything else you could use to describe movies. And the reason is, as far as I can tell, is either the skill of the employees or their attitude. We accept some movies are poorly written, or have dumb stories or bad actors, but even so there's still more emotion and artisit skill involved than any game.

    Games today are where the movie industry was when Charlie Chaplin was the big star. But that's fine. In many ways the gaming industry is still in it's infancy. It still has decades to go before it's accepted by the whole of society. It has a long way to go before it comes close to bringing the emotion evoked in movies to it's products. It's currently become pretty confident with it's ability to make tons of money. That's to be expected. The downside is it believes anything it's pumps out will sell.

    I think the future is bright for the industry... and that's nothing to with anyone that works in it today. The industry needs to move, the current players need to disappear (as in retire and move on) and the next generation who run this industry will no doubt do a far better job. It's not just about technology, it is about art, storytelling and emotion, and what we're currently getting is pathetic compared to other industries.

    My one wish is that everyone involved in games today would p*ss off and that the next generation of developers, producers, designers and programmers would take the reigns and make this an industry we as gamers could be proud of and respect!

  • AphoticCosmos #39 2 years ago

    Agree with Karl Stewart.

    Good movies can make me cry - the first 10 minutes of Up, the Shawshank Redemption, "Yes it is . . . quite a view" in Saving Private Ryan, the ending of The Mission, etc.However, even the ending of HL2EP2 didn't make a tear roll down my cheek. It made me angry, it made me care, but it didn't move me enough to make me cry. If Valve of all people can't elicit that, the pinnacle of emotional response, then something's still not working for games.

    Perhaps we need photorealism in games to allow us to empathise with the characters 100%? Perhaps games are just waiting for the right writer to come along with the right development team?
    Edited by 1 at 11/08/10 @ 14:30

  • Genji #40 2 years ago

    Wow, most of those answers weren't interesting at all.

  • spekkeh #41 2 years ago

    Does Up have photorealism?

    The problem seems to me more that games strife for feelings of empowerment, or self-efficacy. Nobody cries from movies about indestructible heroes. Sure, you can do MW or RDR twists, but these always seem contrived after everything that came before.

    (then again, I seem to hold the minority opinion that so did the ending of The Departed)

  • the_inchworm #42 2 years ago

    I'd wish for more exciting games developers. Lies, all lies. Oh well.

  • Orosco #43 2 years ago

    Tim Schaufer: I wish I didn't put RTS into Brutal Legend. :(

  • schnide #44 2 years ago

    Short article, but interesting and a great idea for a longer one.

  • smithdown #45 2 years ago

    @AphoticCosmos

    Agreed, games struggle to elicit the same emotional responses that films do, but by the same notion I have felt emotions playing games that very few, if any, films have managed. For instance, the curiosity of exploration - testing the boundaries of a world's map, physics and interaction - or the sheer air-punching awesomeness of finally destryoying a tough boss, the satisfaction of completing a level in Portal. I don't think these are things that films are even CAPABLE of making us feel, whereas it is only a matter of time before games can make us cry.

    Not me though, cos I'm not a girl.

  • sonicyoda #46 2 years ago

    @Laserbrain

    Chill out man. As Chazbigpotato pointed out, I was quoting Eminem. I saw the title and it was all that came to my head.

  • NunianVonFuch #47 2 years ago

    @spekkeh no the ending of The Departed was contrived. If they were going to just shoot them with little provocation they could have done it at any point in the film. Like before they killed loads of the cops. Great film up til then tho.

    As for the comments, more women and Specter wishing for cheaper development with more risk taking are the only two that are worth any kop. Any of the more original, interesting games in the last few years have come from these kind of devs. Limbo, Braid, Portal (a re-jig of Narbuncular Drop), Demon's Souls, The Witcher, No More Heroes 1&2, LittleBigPlanet (higher number of women devs than most, does this matter? Separate issue imo), etc. Generic FPS 5 is great, but it's the same stuff different packaging. Bioware, Bethesda and Valve are the only "big" studios off the top of my head that take risks in games and even then it's as part of an established franchise for the most part.
    Edited by 2 at 11/08/10 @ 15:10

  • Cronan #48 2 years ago

    Great article

  • FogHeart #49 2 years ago

    The ending of Flower didn't make me cry but really choked me up, as much as any film has. And that didn't even have a story. And is one of those games you can offer up as blatantly Art.

    The reply I was interested in the most was about how there should be tools for all so they don't have to reinvent the wheel every time they make a game. I've always felt that if devs didn't have to concentrate on technical challenges, if they could use a toolset that gives a minimum level of quality in models, maps and animation then it's down to the artistic talent and game designers to make a game stand or fall. You could say that one dev kit makes every game look the same, to that I'd say that Batman, Borderlands and upcoming MoH look pretty different from each other.

  • Shinetop #50 2 years ago

    I love the idea for this article. It's too bad none of the answers are interesting in any way whatsoever. Even Tim Schafer's.

  • mazzl #51 2 years ago

    one development tool and one platform would be great

  • dsmx #52 2 years ago

    MGS3 made me cry, killing you know who broke my heart.

  • AphoticCosmos #53 2 years ago

    @ Spekkeh

    Heh, good point, hadn't thought about that.

    Up doesn't have photorealism, but the characters were far more endearing than any game characters I've played or watched. Perhaps beautiful voice acting and music might be more essential?

    I don't really know what gaming is lacking, if anything, that leads to crying being very much a rarity, even in masterpieces of games like Half-life 2, but I do know it's lacking something and it's simply a matter of time until games can elicit such emotional responses.

  • titaniumapple #54 2 years ago

    I wish game developers didnt all have facial hair

  • kupocake #55 2 years ago

    "The nice thing about Bungie - it might sound clichéd, but we never really need to make wishes."

    Who needs wishes when you can just copy and paste?

    (Zing?)

  • optimusprym8 #56 2 years ago

    +1 TeaFiend - specifically decisions made by marketing people

  • TeaFiend #57 2 years ago

    @titaniumapple:
    Some of the girls don't.

  • smithdown #58 2 years ago

    Erm, is that THE Anthony Daniels, a.k.a. C-3PO?? Certainly sounds like something he'd say... Or am I being a gullible fool? Gracious!

  • darkmorgado #59 2 years ago

    "The nice thing about Bungie - it might sound clichéd, but we never really need to make wishes."

    How about praying? As in praying to God that your studio manages to survive through Bobby Kotick?



  • Sunyavadin #60 2 years ago

    Karl Stewart and I clearly play very different games...

  • Sunyavadin #61 2 years ago

    Tim Langdell: "I'd own trademarks on every definite and indefinite article in English and other languages"
    Edited by 1 at 11/08/10 @ 18:15

  • Bleemo #62 2 years ago

    "I wish the big companies were run by people that understand games, not businessmen that just want to make a quick buck."

    As much as this sounds like it would be great companies ran by games developers are a hit and miss affair. I think I know what you meant in the sense that business people shouldn't be in charge of the creative side and that is true but also quite often when a games developer tries to run their own business it tanks. Take Romero with Ion storm or the guys at Troika admitting they were out of their depth trying to run the business side.

    In regards to the article I don't really get what is stopping Spector from making said games, there are more than a few companies that make smaller budget games that get respect Popcap, Thatgamecompany etc. Plus big name companies that make more modular games like Valve. Maybe he should have since his company haven't put out a game in seven years.

  • Discalceaterabbit #63 2 years ago

    That Forest Large is a bit of a sexist isn't she? Wishing to have more women to implement certain ideas, rather than wishing that the mindset required to implement those idea's were more widespread, regardless of the gender of who implements it.

  • 3sixty #64 2 years ago

    i wish i had infinite wishes..

  • SpaceMonkey77 #65 2 years ago

    Great feature EG, I really think you should build upon it, and make it a regular thing. Some answers were lame, others very valid.

    One wish?

    Sure, I'm at the consumer end of the industry, but I'd wish for the gold chalice of a console, that lets gamers create their own game content, and letting them post it online via the console. Xbox Live and XNA are a good step in this directiion, but they are still vastly gimped in favour of the console developer (I love Live, but here's looking at you MS). Indie games remain hidden.

    What I'd like to see is perhaps an add-on for future consoles, that gamers can purchased in the vein of a cut down dev kit with code libraries etc, in a book or on a disc (drag out old engines like Renderware and put them to use). Taking influence from the roots of the industry (Spectrum, C64 etc), and not being so damn afraid of consumers creating their own content (in a very PC Valve way), is the only real way of bringing and nurturing new talent into the industry, while lowering the barrier for entry.

    If say your opening a Live or PSN account, also gave you a website (possibly from outside ISPs), you could host your created console content there, instead of via the console creators main servers. I think indie games are a positive thing, but I feel MS etc have shackled the whole thing by their 'everything for a price' mentality. If money supercedes creativity all the time, it'll be ever true, that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

    Lol. Maybe what I'd really like to see is Valve create their own console, with Steam and Source as the backbone. Perhaps only then, will the future Portals, Alien Swarms etc arrive and get the kind of attention that they truly deserve. Low cost, and low entry can only be a good thing, with good quality control attached.

    Along side all of this, there needs to be a means of teaching those skills, the future industry might need from an early age. Uni courses are nice, but they need to expensive trickle that stuff down from that high wall, to normal school/college level. With the lack of kids doing science and math in the U.K especially, all it would take for many of them to do their school/homework, would be the words, 'here's game creator x, get in a group together, learn it and create a game in 6 or 12 months'. It could totally change things. Maybe even tie a bit of business and law into the mix.

    I wonder how many rich, money pinching publishers actually give back to the budding potential root of the industry? Very few I bet, and that's not a good thing either.

    Think I'll get off my wishing horse now, before I cry.

  • Bleemo #66 2 years ago

    @SpaceMonkey77

    Not sure what you mean really, I think part of the reason there isn't as much console development on the indy side is that there isn't really any need for it. Most gamers who play these kinds of games aren't going to buy an expensive consoles to predominantly play cheap games. All they need to play these types of games is a standard PC. Any PC or laptop you could buy today could play most indy games.

    Also the education side is almost impossible barring a basic computer science degree. The tech changes so much that buy the time it trickles into the curriculum it is outmoded. There's nothing particularly that anyone can do about this.

  • SpaceMonkey77 #67 2 years ago

    @Bleemo

    Sure, tech moves at a lighting pace, but we should still try to cut the time down, and give potentially new industry blood a chance. I agree about the computer science bit, but I also think that there's plenty of media in our lives, that can be used for teaching. Back in the day, many learned early game coding via magazine printed features etc. Where the computer science bit is lacking, much worse back then, we have no such magazine alternatives anymore. Saying that though, the net can surely provide, but the exposure and promotion also needs to be there.

    Stick a few lines of code, on one page of a games magazine and get the fire lit again. Or if music, 3D or art is your thing, a page or two on making them. The industry has plenty of talent to draw knowledge from, so why not let them offer a dose of knowledge to help rookies? Its better than doing nothing at all, and if done in mags, would give them an 'Edge' hopefully, over the net.

    Do you like the idea that gamers of openly creating mods, games and aps, for a console, out of the box or via an add on?
    Edited by 1 at 12/08/10 @ 00:52

  • JensonJet #68 2 years ago

    The reason games don't hit us on an emotional level isn't down graphics or photorealism. If it were, surely every movie could hit us emotionally. Of course many don't, because they're not WRITTEN to make us feel emotions. Some by design of course. But it's down to the writing first, the performance second, and in small part down to the music too.

    Games just aren't written that well, and stories just aren't as involving or as emotion-evoking as movies.

    Clearly some of the voice actors involved in games are capable of giving emotional performances (as some have proved in 'proper' acting jobs), but the material they have to work with in games is currently far too low a standard. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting all games have rubbish stories or scripts, but there's definately an attitude and style (or lack of) that's missing and ultimately hindering videogames.

    The closest a game has come to really emulating human emotions and reactions and therefore evoking emotions is The Darkness. Perhaps other gamers didn't feel that. Perhaps many didn't get that far or care about the game enough to experience that. I admit it's still not a scratch on the feelings or sympathy you can have for characters in movies, but it was better than most.


    SpaceMonkey77,

    Yes. Totally agree. While I may not be interested in making my own game, it's undeniably an excellent idea to give the tools to everyone, and allow anyone to make a game, mod a game or for that matter create maps and customise a game and allow others to experience it. Of course all that is available on PCs, but like you, I don't see how it couldn't be a good thing to allow all gamers (console gamers!) to have those tools and options too.

    Unfortunately that idea doesn't sit well with the gaming industry's attitude that consoles are a big money maker. Inevitably allowing console gamers the tools and means to create their own games, or customise current games would inevitably mean a loss of profit compared to how the industry is run today. Good idea, but I doubt it'll ever happen. What Microsoft have done is about as close as it gets, because this way they can make money.

    The only other hope is that more developers allow people to create their own maps or tracks in games (ie. Far Cry and Gran Tourismo). While I'm sure some developers (and publishers) see this idea as a missed opportunity to make more money from DLC, I see it as a great big thank you from the makers to those that purchased the game. And more importantly one of the best features you can give to the gaming community to ensure the game is constantly developing, always remains fresh and interesting to some degree, and actually shows us the gamers that we're more than walking bank accounts, and that we're customers buying products for a hobby we're all enthusiastic about and love.
    Edited by 1 at 12/08/10 @ 03:11

  • Bluetooth #69 2 years ago

    And not one wish of meglomaniac style "I wish to take over the world, mwhahaha!"

    How predictable and sad that the female game creator has to use the stereotypical "more women automaticall = more diverse games" response. Sigh.

  • drchocapic #70 2 years ago

    Didn't a Bioware dev just state recently that their next RPG would be dumbed down because it would sell better this way ?

    Art, my ass.

  • guernican #71 2 years ago

    "The nice thing about Bungie - it might sound clichéd, but we never really need to make wishes. We're going to make it happen."

    Hey, at least you don't sound like a monumental prick saying that.

  • guernican #72 2 years ago

    @ JensonJet

    I think you make some good points, and I think you miss a few.

    Someone else pointed out back on the original RDR comments thread that Rockstar are about as close as it gets to creating this sort of polished, engaging story, populating it with characters that feel convincing and getting them to deliver performances that give it weight.

    Then, 3 minutes later, you try to get Marston to climb a fence that's just too high, and you end up with 4 seconds of him skipping up in the air like a hysterical queen trying to decide which pair of shoes to buy.

    Movies are entirely self-contained. The user input in games is what breaks the spell. If you sat through Assassin's Creed, and remember those 5 minute cut scenes where Old Man Exposition gave you your weapons back and briefed you on which one-diimensional baddie to stab next, you could get Altair to do little pirouettes on his carpet. Which just made it all look silly.

    Apologies if I'm just stating the bleeding obvious, but it doesn't look to me as though people make the distinction enough. It's the macro-level of the difference between a heavily-scripted shooter and a completely open-world sandboxer: the more freedom you offer the player, the less narrative control you have over the experience.

  • Bleemo #73 2 years ago

    "Do you like the idea that gamers of openly creating mods, games and aps, for a console, out of the box or via an add on?"

    Well to some extent XNA does what you say here. Also little big planet is not so far from the mod idea. But I don't really think finding new blood is the industries primary concern right now. More people are being made unemployed in the business than ever before and more people want in so they are not short of options. In fact even now too many games are being made really, not enough original ones but enough in the established genres.

  • JensonJet #74 2 years ago

    guernican,

    I understand what you're saying. The example you give of Red Dead Redemption is ultimately down to simple poor game design and thoughtlessness on the part of the developers in what is otherwise considered a great game by many. I don't have it, but I have seen it. For me generally third-person lack atmosphere and aren't half as engaging or suck me into the virtual world as much as first person, but each to their own.

    As far emotion in games is concerned I still feel it's down to two things. The first of which is that everything often feels contrived. A movie plays out in natural characters arcs and storylines; revealing personalities or situations that define peoples character as the story moves on. If a videogame character dies, or for that matter whatever their actions are or what they say always feel more 'scripted' than movies, if you know what I mean.

    The other issue is there seems to be a change of attitude and writing when creating a game than a movie. There's no reason why a game shouldn't have the same emotional impact of a movie, but it hasn't happened yet. Some games have come closer than others, but even they're a million miles away from the depth of character or able to drum up emotions as is demonstrated by just an average movie.

    Fortunately for me, as a game lover, I don't have very high expectations for games bringing the emotional weight of movies. If I want an engaging story, or interesting and deep character, I get my fill from movies. Games are on the whole the eqivalent of dumb action movies. They invoke different feelings and handle situations, by their very nature, differently from films. And I'm ok with that. Yes, I'd like there to be fewer muscle headed hero types or big-titted women, but we all understand that fit strong or attractive people are an easier sell to the videogame audience than the alternative.

    Things will improve in time. We're already seeing far better voice acting, music and of course graphics that bring a higher detail of facial animation and movement to characters, which all help. The writing still has a way to go. But I think by the nature of games, they're always often going to 'action' type movies. While I'm happy to watch any kind of story unfold in films, do I want to play a game being many of these characters? No, of course not.

    Ultimately I want to play a game with action in it. And that's perhaps the one issue that makes it hard for the writers of videogames. They probably fear gamers don't want games to be too 'wordy', when in fact it's words that create the depth of character and ultimately the emotion. No one feels particularly emotion watching Rambo than they do a drama or a love story. And we're all sure we know how badly a love story or drama based game would sell. It's no coincidence so many games are based on violence, speed or sport. Action is nearly always the main ingredient to games with characters.

    Fingers crossed the industry continues to get better and more people from the better industry of storytelling, ie. the movies, continue to make the transition to games. The gaming industry alone is failing, and it needs to continue to look towards it's better storytelling cousin for input and help.

    The biggest problem with videogames in terms of their failure to bring out the emotional response or depth of feeling seen in movies are the game producers. They may be good at creating games that are popular, or sell well, have great features and are fun to play, but in terms of storytelling, they're the equivalent of special effects guys in the movies. You wouldn't want a special effects man to direct a movie. And that's all game producers are to me. They understand the technology but their storytelling skills are born from copying what they've seen in movies. Movie directors are a different breed. Their job is to engage the audience, take on a ride, an escape from reality, all the while the audience just sit there and watch.

    Good directors can't be underestimated, and to an extent, game producers are in a different league in terms of engaging their audience. Gamers are much more a captive audience. We all know what to expect and we all actually have pretty low expectations. Movies that attempted to tell the stories we see in practically all games would be laughed at, would almost guarantee to fail, and would certainly not be as watchable as conventional films. Can you imagine just how poor a movie would be if your average game producer tried making one? On the other hand, with the advise of the 'special effects man'... the game producer... in theory the movie director should be able to create a game with a more provocative and emotional story and characters. In theory!
    Edited by 1 at 12/08/10 @ 11:34

  • guernican #75 2 years ago

    JensonJet

    I don't know. It feels like we're sort of talking around the same themes, although I think you're blurring technical and storytelling tropes a little bit. Plenty of games use conventional narrative arcs: off the top of my head, what's more conventional than Nathan Drake? Wisecracking everyman, legendary treasure, betrayed by those closest to him (perhaps), finally wins through. KOTOR follows a well-worn narrative curve: defeated baddie shown the error of his former ways and gains redemption (or not) at the expense of his usurping former student. Memento / Inception this is not.

    I'm also not entirely sure what you mean by the "average movie", because (in my humble) average movies are every bit as lightweight in this regard as average games. The idea of true character progression is as alien to Michael Bay as it is to any hack studio churning out the next frag 'em up. People compare the two industries because it seems relatively simple and makes a sort of sense, but perhaps when figures like Schafer say what they do, they're hoping that games could aspire to genuine art... to high culture. In this instance, there are definitely some games that make the attempt to move away from formulaic tropes and into something more recherche. The Void is a good recent example, and Portal and its upcoming sequal certainly make the effort to subvert what you think an action / shooter should be, and bend it to their own ends. Which, for me, is pretty clever.

    I just want to draw the distinction between what I think you're talking about - better scripts, better voice acting, better graphics and fidelity and so on - and the other facets of this. If a game could make you cry, or feel loss, or despair, or whatever, that doesn't necessarily have to be because they hired Nolan North to voice the main character.

  • Sicho #76 2 years ago

    I cried at the end of MGS4.
    All the time I spent with Snake in MGS 1 and 2 and his father in MGS 3 and then this ending ... It was very emotional.

    MGS is better than most movies out there. (IMO)

  • JensonJet #77 2 years ago

    guernican,

    I was still centering on the notion of games having the same emotional weight that movies can have. And while some the games industry is employing musicians, actors and writers that are more than competent, often they're not giving their best work, and this is probably because the guys at the top, the producers, are the weakest area in the gaming industry.

    For example, in movies it's generally accepted that a good director will get the best out of the material, actors or budget he or she has to work with. Games can have competent people throughout all departments, but if the big man at the top is a typical games producer, then we have no hope of games having any more emotional weight than they have today. Good directors understand storytelling and can create emotion and feeling that games producers only aspire to achieve, but have no hope in hell of reaching. They're easily the weakest area in the industry if it cares to resolve this.

    I agree that Michael Bay films are no more emotional nor have deeper characters than some games, but I'd still suggest even some of the background characters in his movies are more interest than most video game main protagonists. And as a director he's far more skillful at what he does, than what most games producers do at their job. I can't say I've seen much of his work, but until we see him tackle a down-to-earth drama, or a love-story, or just a normal tale of normal people, it's difficult to judge just what he's capable of. On the flip side we know great directors can make awful or unengaging films, but at least a good director will get a pretty good performance out of an actor (although I'm still waiting for one to get a half decent performance out of that walking plank, Keanu Reeves).

    But that aside I do feel there's something between the medium of videogames, the attitude of those that make or contribute to making games and something inherently flawed in them that will never have a games (at least not any time soon) have anywhere near the emotional weight of a movie.

    I'd heard about Heavy Rain having a stronger 'more movie-like' feel to it. So I checked it out. It's true, it was as dull as the least entertaining movie. It was as cliche as the most overdone genre movie. It looked like a child's eye attempt to copy what movies were like, but without the skill or craftsmanship in any area (story, acting, music, etc) you'd see in a film. The game needed to be written and treated like a movie, probably with a movie director (someone creative at least) at the helm, and your common-old-garden, typical game producer sitting alongside turning it into the interactive movie-game it was trying to be. I'd rather have watched the story unfold without the need to press buttons when prompted. This was as annoying and un-game like as a movie not playing on the TV unless I kept pressing buttons on the remote when prompted. But as I said before, as a story, ignoring that it was a game, it was dreadful. Dull as the dullest of movies.

    I don't know who Nolan North is. But if he's an actor he's only part of the problem/solution to making games more than dumb action stories with one dimensional characters, all the other issues that keep games decades behind movies for storytelling. I think there needs to a cultural change, and general maturity to the industry, and probably new blood to really move games forward. The gaming industry as I said before is the special effects department. The special effects boys should not be hiring actors, deciding story, developing characters or running the whole show.

  • trip919 #78 2 years ago

    "The nice thing about Bungie - it might sound clichéd, but we never really need to make wishes. We're going to make it happen."

    /laughs and laughs and laughs then *dies*

  • RCrucial #79 2 years ago

    I think people are missing the actual point of games when they say need to have better story or acting to give an emotional resonance. The USP of games is their interactivity, so they don't need to attempt to copy passive artforms such as books or films.

    For example the most powerful emotional experience I've had recently in a game was in super mario galaxy 2, on that late underwater level where you're going through long underwater tunnels with little air and then suddenly emerge to a beautiful sunlit plain on the over side to retrieve a star. I got a real feeling of first claustrophobia and then relief and joy at completing the level and arriving at a beautiful area. These are real universal themes that can also be related in novels for instance but are achieved here, through guiding the player through the experience with out the need for conventional storytelling.

    Also there is that wonderful boo moon level which has a brilliant playful artistry, where your perceptions of the levels are played with (such as by landing on supposedly far away moon in the background). This seems to me the perfect example of video games as a really creative and unique artform.

  • Xardan #80 2 years ago

    Which games have emotional impact?